Nicholas Sparks: What I've Learned from My Dog

Bestselling author Nicholas Sparks says Zeus, the German Shepherd co-star of "The Lucky One," was inspired by his faithful canine companion Rex -- and that "man's best friend" has much to share with us.

Nicholas Sparks and friends ...

“Zeus and Logan are inseparable in the book, so Zac and Rowdy had to be almost that way while we were shooting it,” recalls Schilling. “I remember worrying, ‘How hard is it going to be for Rowdy to leave Zac behind? It is going to be traumatizing.”

“It was hard,” admits Efron. “The whole time I was just thinking – I was like ‘I can’t get too attached to this fantastic dog’ – but I did anyway. I’m not worried. He doesn’t live far away from my house. I’ll be dropping by. It was nice to have a companion the whole time during the shooting. It was neat. It was just fun to have a dog around.”